a literary genre that has nothing to do with the Matrix, being cool, or anime. it's a subgenre of sci-fi in which there is strong sense of helplessness, misery, dystopic ideals and loss of morality and/or humanity. corporations control the lives of their workers and reside in microcosms dictated by the status quo

blade runner, dark city and (to some extent) judge dredd & johnny mneumonic are examples of the genre.

a sub genre of sci-fi usualy whith deep philosophical stments about the nature of freedom and reality. cyberpunk is usualy set in a de - humanised and futuristic society. the protagonist is usualy paranoid or suspicous about society , and usualy gets it right. loads of famous books, films , and comic can be considered cyberpunk, the film "i robot" , and "the matrix" are both cyber punk, even the famous book "1984" can be considered cyber punk , because it is set in a futuristic and de humanised seciety, (admitedly , its original intent was to mimic soviet russia, but it can still be considered cyber punk, loosly)

cyberpunk is not a shalow genre , although many cyberpunk movies are shalow , whith no realy philosophical questions. they are the minority

Pertains to both a literary genre and more recently to an attitude or lifestyle.

The media genre generally is placed in the future and develops more on the fact that the future may not end, but may not be pretty either. Generally the storyline centres around some form of technology.

The more recent lifestyle that has evolved and coined this term is fragmented and hard to classify. It is still very new and there is debate on what the term means. Generally observation shows that "cyberpunks" are not only extremely technologically proficient, but are innately adept at it. They have a desire to know all forms of technology they come into contact with. Their attitude tends to be somewhat apathetic towards anything that doesn't directly involve them and their style of dress and personal tastes tend to be eccentrically futuristic.

The hardest thing to say about cyber punk is it's definition. To sum up what cyber punk means in reality - it generally covers the computing underworld of hackers, as well as various underground technology such as amateur military technology.

In fiction, cyber punk is considered a sub-genre of sci-fi, especially popular in Japanese animation (anime), although also seen in films such as Blade Runner and The Matrix. Generally, this type of fiction covers the subjects of computing, hacking and general mechanical technology.

It should be noted that cyber punk is not an officially accepted term in computer science, although it has been widely accepted as a laymans term in fiction.

That anime has mecha fights, computers that can access everyones brain, its a cyber punk anime.

A mix of film noir and science fiction, generally used to decribe media. Cyber Punk is usually about hackers, or some form of sentient computer programming (like and AI). The stories are usually told with a very urban noir style.

As far as a look, it's hard to put a figner on it. I dont think any one look can be described as cyber punk, its more of an attitude. Black jeans, tight t shirt with holograms, and leather jackets are a good start. Maybe toss in some Chuck Taylors, or combat boots. Some goggles or head phones might make good accesories.

A sci-fi genre that incorporates cybernetic implants, computer hacking and high technology, usually pitting independent hackers against mega corporations and though police. Seminal early works include the novel Neuromancer (Gibson), and Shadowrun (a role playing game). This culture heavily influenced later works, such as Matrix, and a wide range of books, role playing games, and movies.

The cyberpunk culture of the 80s has had a huge impact on modern films and literature.

A subgenre of science fiction that nerds can never agree on the exact meaning of. A good guide line though is the two words in that portmanteau: "cyber" and "punk." Does the movie/book/show/comic/whatever in question have a heavy emphasis on technology? (As opposed to aliens, space exploration, time travel, etc.) Then it's got the "cyber." Does it have a punk-like feel to it? (Dark, neon-filled setting, black leather and sunglasses, techno-punk soundtrack, devil-may-care attitudes, etc.) Then it's got the "punk."

"What the hell do you mean 'The Matrix' isn't cyberpunk? It's got the virtual reality, the hackers, the leather, the shades, the deep philosophy, the dark future, the cynicism, the robots, and the techno soundtrack!"

"It was made in 1999. True cyberpunk must be from the '80s, like 'Blade Runner' and 'Neuromancer.'"

"Dude, that's like saying 'Harry Potter' can't be fantasy, because it wasn't written in the same decade as 'Lord of the Rings.'"